Video Explanations by 1/29 Explainers

From time-to-time we like to show off the work of a member of our Explainer Network of video producers. The videos below are by 1/29 Explainers in Oakland CA.

This first example on Next Gen Web Security from McAfee is a classic story-driven narrative. It works well as an explanation by telling a story through the experiences of a character that is likely to connect with the target audience, in this case, IT managers. It plays on the loss of control that IT managers feel (the pain) and shows how that pain is resolved with a product (the resolution). It leaves the viewer (the target viewer anyway) with the feeling that it would be good to feel like Ted, the main character.

Our second example is a video called "In Your Hands" for the organization CompTIA, which is the voice of the world's information technology industry. It's a bit of an outlier in the explanation space, as it uses mostly text and is in 3D. At first I wasn't sure about the video's format, but I found myself being completely engaged by the animation of the words, which feel so real in how they fall. It kept my attention and felt impactful. I think it does a great job of relating the seriousness of the subject without being cheesy or over-the-top.

Our last example from 1/29 is about GigWalk. I found this video interesting in a number of ways. First, like so many apps, it's a completely new idea. People may have never even considered that such a thing is possible. A video explanation is perfect for these kinds of ideas and this one does a solid job of building a foundation of understanding in just over a minute. Something else I noticed... The viewer sees, visually, that you earn money based on "gigs", but that fact never comes up in the script. It's purely visual. I think this keeps the focus on the big idea and value to customers vs. the financial incentive to participate. It's a smart move because if you go too far into the "you can make money!" it distracts from the core message, which seems to be about the Gigwalk customer vs. the GigWalker.